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Computer help!

Firecracker197
polycounter lvl 11
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Firecracker197 polycounter lvl 11
Hey guys, this really has nothing to do with CG so I didn't post it in tech talk, but my computer keeps freezing every time I go to open an image through a browser, and it doesn't matter what browser because I tried IE Firefox and Chrome. Sometimes it even does it when I open things in photoshop too. Does anyone know what might be causing this and what I can do to fix it?

Im on a 64bit version of vista btw and if you need anymore info just ask.
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  • sicsided
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    sicsided
    is it just the same image or multiple images?
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  • ZacD
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    ZacD ngon master
    1. Restart your computer, is the issue still there?
    2. is the issue with one image? or just images?
    3. Have you tried anything else besides internet browsers?
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  • danshewan
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    danshewan polycounter lvl 8
    Keeps freezing as in you have to use Task Manager to fix it, or restart it, or....?

    Any distortion on the screen when it happens? Any error messages?
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  • Firecracker197
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    Firecracker197 polycounter lvl 11
    it just seems like its taking WAY too long to access the hard drive, so Im thinking maybe something is wrong thats making it hard for it to do that, i just dont know what.

    When it freezes sometimes it stays not responding for about 2-3 mins then it will come back, but sometimes I have to end the process.

    When I restart it doesnt seem to fix the problem, if it does its only a matter of hours before it starts to do it again. Its not just one image its anything, even when I go to my computer to access my c drive its really slow, slower than normal. My hard drive isnt full either it still has about 160 out of 450 gigs left.

    Oh and no error messages or distortion that I can tell, the only message I get is windows asking me if I want to wait or close the process.
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  • notman
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    notman polycounter lvl 18
    Start by seeing what is taking up your CPU cycles. Open your task manager and see what is killing you (if anything).

    Check your msconfig and see what is starting with your computer. Maybe something slipped its way onto your computer (like spyware).

    One other thing I've noticed on SOME computers, is windows update killing the machine. It tries downloading updates in the background (depending on your settings), and when it's a big update, it will slow down everything. Rebooting doesn't help, because as soon as it checks for updates again, it will continue the download... The easy way to check this problem, is to do windows update manually and see if you have any big updates.
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  • Junkie_XL
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    Junkie_XL polycounter lvl 14
    Download this...

    http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/Malwarebytes-AntiMalware/1186760019/1

    Update and then run it.
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  • Target_Renegade
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    Target_Renegade polycounter lvl 11
    What OS are you running? How many programs are running at the same time?
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  • Elhrrah
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    Elhrrah polycounter lvl 8
    listen to Junkie_XL; malwarebytes is the best tool for the job when it comes to looking for viruses.
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  • Firecracker197
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    Firecracker197 polycounter lvl 11
    Elhrrah wrote: »
    listen to Junkie_XL; malwarebytes is the best tool for the job when it comes to looking for viruses.

    I'll try that thanks :D Also...I guess I should turn off my computer at night...maybe that would help.
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  • notman
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    notman polycounter lvl 18
    Another thing then. If you've had this PC for a while, you may want to open it and make sure the CPU heatsink is clean.
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  • Firecracker197
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    Firecracker197 polycounter lvl 11
    notman wrote: »
    Another thing then. If you've had this PC for a while, you may want to open it and make sure the CPU heatsink is clean.

    Its a laptop so I probably shouldnt be cracking it open :/
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  • Lamont
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    Lamont polycounter lvl 15
    Firecracker197 wrote: »
    Its a laptop so I probably shouldnt be cracking it open :/
    If it's out of warranty, go ahead.

    If you have no virus/malware, check to make sure you don't have a dust bunny village in the lappy. After that check the performance of the machine. Download HWInfo and log the performance.
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  • arrangemonk
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    arrangemonk polycounter lvl 15
    also you can search for weird processes with process explorer
    http://technet.microsoft.com/de-de/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx
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  • kaptainkernals
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    kaptainkernals polycounter lvl 12
    Also how often do you defrag your hard-drive? I fragmented files and folders can sometimes cause massive slow downs, especially if you haven't defragmented in ages.
    And don't bother using the windows degrag tool - utter rubbish. Try get something like diskeeper.
    And once you start using a defragger, use it at least once a week, or after you've installed or deleted something big, or worked on a large file.
    Also get Ccleaner - good for clearing out your registry, and for deleting temp data.
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  • DrunkShaman
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    DrunkShaman polycounter lvl 14
    Firecracker197 wrote: »
    Hey guys, this really has nothing to do with CG so I didn't post it in tech talk, but my computer keeps freezing every time I go to open an image through a browser, and it doesn't matter what browser because I tried IE Firefox and Chrome. Sometimes it even does it when I open things in photoshop too. Does anyone know what might be causing this and what I can do to fix it?

    Im on a 64bit version of vista btw and if you need anymore info just ask.

    Ctrl + Alt + Del once, Start Task Manager. Click the performance tab and see the history of your physical memory usage, and CPU usage. If the physical memory usage is greater than perhaps you should click the Processes tab and click show processes from all users to see how much memory is being used by what program. End process of certain unused / unwanted programs should solve this issue.

    By the way, how much RAM do you have on your computer?
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  • Firecracker197
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    Firecracker197 polycounter lvl 11
    Nitewalkr wrote: »
    Ctrl + Alt + Del once, Start Task Manager. Click the performance tab and see the history of your physical memory usage, and CPU usage. If the physical memory usage is greater than perhaps you should click the Processes tab and click show processes from all users to see how much memory is being used by what program. End process of certain unused / unwanted programs should solve this issue.

    By the way, how much RAM do you have on your computer?

    Yeah I do that most of the time, but honestly its hard to tell what processes can be closed and what cant, I wouldn't want to mess anything up and a lot of the times its hard to tell what stuff is.

    I have 4 gigs of ram, and usually I don't have a problem using a few programs at a time, but then I run into this issue where even the simplest things make my computer freeze up.

    I used a lot of those programs you guys suggested and I think they will help, I guess I just need to be better about maintaining my machine now that I have had it for awhile.
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  • notman
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    notman polycounter lvl 18
    Actually, the fastest route the the task manager is to right click on your taskbar, then choose task manager ;)

    Once you have task manager open, click on the processes tab, then sort by memory. Then you can see if something is absorbing your ram. Then do the same for the CPU. Everything may look normal, but it may pinpoint a problematic program.
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  • frubes
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    frubes
    To be honest it sounds like a hard drive startin to give up the ghost. First thing i would do is backup all your work. Find the maker of the drive and run any diagnostic tools they have to see if you have bad sectors or if its going on the blink. Its a good idea not to defrag it at first because if it is a problem then running a defrag makes the drive work twice as hard and its more likely to fail. Once you have backed everything up then run the performance tests as all they will be doing is stressing the machine to a point at which its more likely to break.
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  • PfhorRunner
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    PfhorRunner polycounter lvl 18
    I'm with frubes on this one... back up ASAP, but you might also want to check this out:

    http://forums.pcworld.com/index.php?/topic/64582-helpassistant-folder-keeps-appearing/

    There's some nasty stuff that gets into your MBR and causes your HDD to thrash constantly.
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  • oXYnary
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    oXYnary polycounter lvl 18
    If it does end up being your HD giving up the ghost. May I recommend a SSD drive and an upgrade to Windows 7 64? Night and day.
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  • Lamont
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    Lamont polycounter lvl 15
    oXYnary wrote: »
    If it does end up being your HD giving up the ghost. May I recommend a SSD drive and an upgrade to Windows 7 64? Night and day.
    HDD failure is a fact of life even with SSD. What you do to prepare for it is the thing that matters most. Picking up a SSD big enough to hold an OS is at least $70 (16GB).
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  • oXYnary
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    oXYnary polycounter lvl 18
    I never said it wasn't. Whatever one chooses, they should have backup. I dont know her budget if there does end up being an issue with the hd, under $200 she can get 64gb ones.
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  • arrangemonk
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    arrangemonk polycounter lvl 15
    Firecracker197 wrote: »
    Yeah I do that most of the time, but honestly its hard to tell what processes can be closed and what cant, I wouldn't want to mess anything up and a lot of the times its hard to tell what stuff is.

    I have 4 gigs of ram, and usually I don't have a problem using a few programs at a time, but then I run into this issue where even the simplest things make my computer freeze up.

    I used a lot of those programs you guys suggested and I think they will help, I guess I just need to be better about maintaining my machine now that I have had it for awhile.
    thats why i recomended processexplorer
    it list the hosted dlls, the name the storage of system and alota other crap, and you can get the process of a specific window and vice versa
    and so on
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  • arrangemonk
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    arrangemonk polycounter lvl 15
    oXYnary wrote: »
    I never said it wasn't. Whatever one chooses, they should have backup. I dont know her budget if there does end up being an issue with the hd, under $200 she can get 64gb ones.


    only backup is too less, reliable backup is the go
    (once lost all 3dsmax files because of not working backup)
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  • Firecracker197
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    Firecracker197 polycounter lvl 11
    arrangemonk wrote: »
    thats why i recomended processexplorer
    it list the hosted dlls, the name the storage of system and alota other crap, and you can get the process of a specific window and vice versa
    and so on

    I got this, and I'm still figuring it out, but I'm sure its helpful.

    Also I will backup my stuff, is there a program that I can use to do this too?
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  • PfhorRunner
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    PfhorRunner polycounter lvl 18
    Rebit is rated really well...

    http://www.rebit.com/products-software.html

    I use Acronis at my store, but some don't like it as much...

    http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/
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